Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 (ANI): After actor Akshay Kumar arrived early at the polling booth, his wife and author Twinkle Khanna also showed up to cast her vote on Thursday morning.
Twinkle was spotted at the Gandhi Shikshan Bhavan polling station in Mumbai during the ongoing Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
After casting her vote, Twinkle interacted with reporters and explained why participating in elections matters, adding that voting gives citizens a voice and helps them feel involved in the system.
“I think it gives us a sense of control, a little bit of power over the narrative, and I am voting both out of habit and hope,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Akshay Kumar, who had also arrived early at the polling booth, spoke to reporters outside and emphasised the importance of voting, encouraging people to take part in the election process. Urging citizens to come out and vote, the actor said, “Today is the BMC election… I would urge everyone to definitely vote so that we can choose the right person through voting.”
Polling is being held on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra. The elections are taking place after an intense campaign and are seen as crucial for major cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is contesting independently in most corporations.
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39,092 polling centres have been set up across the state.
Polling began at 7:30 am on Thursday, January 15, and will continue until 5:30 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on Friday, January 16. (ANI)